Obama set to release new climate change plan

Today, 3 August 2015, US President Barack Obama is set to reveal the new revised Clean Power Plan.

It is anticipated that the plan will increase the cuts in carbon emissions from the power sector in the US to 32% cuts from 2005 levels by 2030 – an increase of 9% since a previously proposed regulation. If the plan is executed, coal’s share in electricity generation in the US will decline by 27% by 2030.

A move towards renewables is anticipated to be a big encouragement by the regulation, encouraging investment away from coal-fired electricity to wind and solar energy.

The White House believes it is the biggest step it has taken to combat climate change. It stated the release of the plan was "the starting gun for an all-out climate push" by the president and his cabinet. It is expected the plan will be central to the US contribution to a United Nations agreement to tackle climate change.

The plan is expected to encounter a large legal conflict between federal environment regulators and the coal industry. Many states are currently preparing to challenge the new regulations in court through Congressional manoeuvres.

Each state will be required to submit a plan to the EPA next year, indicating how it will meet an emission-cutting goal assigned to it.

The rule will create a Clean Energy Incentive Program to reward states that take early action to deploy renewable energy projects before the regulation takes effect in 2022. The EPA will also allowing states to progress plans to ‘opt in’ to an emission credit trading market with other states taking similar measures, without involving interstate agreements.

In preparing for arguments by opponents that the plan will be too costly, the administration said the revised rule will "cut energy bills for low-income families" and reduce energy technology costs.